Aerification

Course Aerification This week’s scheduled course aerification went really well. Favourable weather allowed us to punch holes in all the greens and tees. Even though aerifying will make the greens much better through the season, they will go through a short recovery period which will make them slightly softer and slower than we are used to. We appreciate everyone’s understanding through the healing process. Ballmarks With the summer months ramping up and the golf course getting busier, I would like to encourage everyone to fix their ball marks on the greens. This is extremely important as it will help the…

The golf course will be closed on Monday, June 4 and Tuesday, June 5 for aerification. The short game area and the practice area by the #5 hole will also be closed on Monday and Tuesday for maintenance. Aerification Throughout the golf season, the greens produce an organic layer that can accumulate very quickly. This can become very problematic as organic matter acts like a sponge and keeps the surface wet and soft. This puts the greens at higher risk for disease and other turf injury. It also creates a bad putting surface. This is why aerifying is essential. By removing…

The golf course will be closed on Monday, June 4 and Tuesday, June 5 for aerification. With some timely showers and good growing conditions, many of the newly sodded areas have rooted well. If you have been around the golf course over the last couple of days you have probably noticed that we have taken some of the ropes out and have opened some areas for play. We hope to be able to open up more areas over the weekend and into early next week. There are, however, some spots that will still take a bit more time. These areas…

Although we have officially entered the fall season, it seems summer is sticking around for a few more days. This stretch of sunny weather has been fantastic for golf, and it's been great to see many members still enjoying the course and the patio. This weather has also been favourable for turf growth and recovery. The turf recovery side of things has been excellent because it's given the greens a chance to fully recover from aerification after only 14 days (see 7-day and 14-day photo comparison below). This has exceeded our expectations, and we are very happy with the results. The turf…

Reminder: Starting Monday, September 18, start times Monday-Friday will be 8:00am. Weekends will remain at 7:00am until October. September has brought us some great golfing weather so far and it looks like this weekend will be fantastic. The golf course has enjoyed this favourable weather. It has helped the greens in their recovery from aerification. After eight recovery days they still have some filling in to do but we are happy with the progress they are making. The holes will still be visible for a while but the playability is getting better every day. Enjoy the weekend, Andre Aymar, Golf Course Superintendent

As of Monday, September 18, start times on weekdays will be change from 7:30am to 8:00am. It will remain at 7:00am on weekends for the month of September. With daylight getting less and less every day, it is getting much more difficult for our team to get our morning maintenance done ahead of golf. During the week it is especially difficult as we perform more agricultural tasks. Having enough time to prepare the golf course properly in the morning is essential for the health and conditioning of the course. Working on the greens before daylight always poses a risk for…

The golf course will be closed Tuesday, Sept. 5 and Wednesday, Sept. 6 for our scheduled aerification. I thought this might be a good time to briefly review why we aerate and why it is essential for us to do so. As turf grows through the season, it continually generates new shoots and roots to replace the older ones that aren’t effective anymore. This creates a layer of decaying organics at the surface. This organic layer becomes problematic very quickly. Photo: This subsurface image of the green profile shows accumulating organics in the top inch. It has a slightly darker…

Some of you who played earlier this week may have noticed quite a bit of sand on #11 fairway. I was asked why we put down the sand and what does the sand do. With the very wet season we've had, some areas have stayed wet too long. When an area becomes anaerobic, (no oxygen) the plant starts to die. An anaerobic environment can also cause significant and long-lasting damage to roots. The 11th fairway, because of its microclimate, got quite a bit of damage. It is now in the recovery process and this will take time. This is when sand is used. We have punched…

This week has been a good recovery week for the greens. Last weekend was very hot, therefore we had to be very cautious for the greens not to dry out. This can set back the aerification recovery process. Through hand watering techniques and close monitoring we were able to manage through the heat quite effectively, and the holes have noticeably filled in very well. Although some of the holes are still visible, they are well on their way to full recovery, and the greens are already rolling much smoother. (Photo below) We have installed a bottle filler on the new fountain at the…

This week’s scheduled aerification went very well. We were able to get just enough dry weather to get everything done. This included pulling cores on greens, tees, and approaches in order to control the organic layer and replace it with sand. These processes are very beneficial and they allow us to provide exceptional conditions for the summer months. As beneficial as they are, there is a recovery period where the playing conditions won’t be quite as good as they have been. It’s important to simply let the grass grow in order for it to heal up properly, therefore there will…

Islington Golf Club

Conveniently located in Toronto and tucked into historical Islington Village and the Mimico Creek valley, Islington Golf Club is a challenging 18-hole, par 72 golf course with tree-lined, parkland-style golf holes, rolling terrain, and the meandering Mimico Creek. Visit our website at www.islingtongolfclub.com.